


May Day

by kirkmills



Series: Of Princesses and Painted China [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, F/F, Ficlet, Princess Emma Swan, Princess!Emma, Young!Regina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-13
Updated: 2014-04-13
Packaged: 2018-01-19 03:55:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1454464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirkmills/pseuds/kirkmills
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina meets Princess Emma again at the May Day ball</p>
            </blockquote>





	May Day

**Author's Note:**

> So as I said I might, I am making my initial one shot into a series. There might be some two or three shots along the way depending on what I'm feeling, but they will all be a general continuation of the same storyline. The first few will probably end up being more of a set up for meatier plot further along, as I have some ideas in that direction.

Regina had been lucky. Despite what appeared to have been her mother's best efforts, the Coming Out ball did not end in an engagement for her. In part that seemed to be because her mother hadn't been overly impressed by the possible suitors - but it was also largely thanks to the fact that the girl had been nowhere to be seen for a large part of the event.  
Cora had been furious, but Regina maintained that the beatings she'd received - both physical and verbal - had been worth it for the hour or so she'd gotten to spend with the Princess. She was thankful, too, that she had managed to avoid being betrothed to some old man she didn't know - though she knew in her heart it was only a matter of time. The May Day ball was fast approaching and it was already being rumoured that several kings and princes from further kingdoms would be attending.  
It made her feel a little sick really - but then at the same time she was sure that attending would mean getting to see Emma again, and that was something she was desperate for. She felt a kinship with the girl that she'd never found before. Her mother had never really allowed her friends - and being an only child as well she often found herself feeling so lonely and isolated she wanted to scream. That short time she'd spent with Emma though, that had made her feel light and happy. It had made her feel like she imagined normal sixteen year old girls were meant to feel, free spirited and happy.  
It was a sensation she was desperate to feel again - even if it carried the risk of bringing her closer to her inevitable engagement.  
So Regina found herself cooperating. She didn't fight her mother when she tried to pretty her up. Didn't argue when she had a dress made for her that was too tight when laced, and cut lower than she felt comfortable in. She made no complaints that pale pink was not her color, or that the pins in her hair made her head ache. She kept her mouth shut, instead dwelling on the exciting feeling that after tonight she might have someone she could truly call a friend.  
  
*  
  
The May Day ball was infinitely more impressive. The ballroom was larger, grander - decorated in long swathes of bright leaves and flowers. The whole room was bright and alive. Unlike the coming out ball, the room was filled with dresses of all shapes and colors. Some pastel, like her own, but others bright jewel hues or dark, regal tones. She wished her mother would have let her wear a dress like that - bright ruby red, or dark blue like the midnight sky. The pastels made her feel like a child, like a poor defenseless victim. Some small, bitter part of her mind reminded her that that wasn’t really so far from the truth – but she ignored it.  
“Behave, Regina,” her mother's voice hissed in her ear as they descended the elegant staircase into the sea of color “I won't have you embarrassing me here.”  
The girl nodded mutely, smiling to the crowd though the grip on her arm was bruising.  
“If someone asks you to dance you will agree. You will smile, and you will make polite conversation – and if I call on you to speak to someone you will do so. Do you understand?”  
She nodded again.  
“ _Regina_ ,” her mother warned “do you understand?”  
“Yes, mother,” she whispered quickly in response.  
“Good,” the grip on her arm finally loosened and she resisted the urge to rub at it in discomfort. Her mother had no doubt used her magic to cover any bruising – but the pain was still there.  
Across the room the musicians picked up their instruments and a lively dance tune began to fill the room. Regina took a deep breath – it looked like the show was about to start.  
  
*  
  
She'd danced with seven different men already by the time Princess Emma and her parents arrived. Regina spotted her easily from across the room – the rulers of the White Kingdom seemed to have a natural talent of parting people as they walked, despite their company being fellow royals and nobles.  
The brunette felt her heart speed up a little at the sight of Emma. The Princess was dressed in bright emerald green, curls of blonde hair falling prettily around her face.  In that moment, Regina wanted nothing more than to race across the ballroom, take her by the hand, and run off on another little adventure together – but she could feel her mother's gaze on her, and she was currently engaged with a particularly boring, but particularly rich dance partner.  
Besides, she really couldn't afford to let her mother know she'd actually found a tiny semblance of friendship somewhere for fear it might be crushed.  
“You're very beautiful,” her dance partner told her, and she turned back to him with as much false gratitude as she could muster. He was some incredibly rich count from King Leopold’s kingdom – aging and insufferable, just as they all tended to be.  
“Thank you, my lord,” she replied, inclining her head “you too are most handsome.”  
He seemed pleased with that response, pulling her slightly closer and back into the dance that Queen Snow and Prince James' arrival had interrupted.  
“You're not from a very wealthy family are you, though?” he asked bluntly, as he twirled her in a clumsy move that had her cursing internally for her poor battered feet.  
She startled slightly at his bluntness, but regained herself quickly “My father has not been as fortunate as some,” she admitted carefully “the curse of being a king's fifth son, I'm afraid. He will never inherit the throne like his brother – he may only share the wealth of the kingdom and never be honored with the responsibility of running it.”  
It was a practiced speech that had been instilled in her years ago. King Xavier rarely talked about the fifth son he had lost to marriage with a peasant – and consequently people tended to think them nobles rather than royals. It was something that irked her mother no end. Honestly, the distinction meant very little to her – but anything that might make her seems more valuable was important to her mother.  
She was an investment, after all.  
Her dance partner's eyebrows rose “You're a princess?”  
“I am the daughter of a prince,” she replied in a careful monotone her mother would beat her for if she heard it. The man didn't seem to notice though her dispiritedness though  
“Which kingdom are you from?”  
“I'm the granddaughter of King Xavier,” she replied.  
Her partner licked his lips in a way so predatory it made her feel distinctly ill at ease.  
“King Xavier, eh? That is a wealthy kingdom.”  
“My grandfather has been most fortunate in his campaigns,” she rattled off. Of course she could not tell him that her father had been practically cut off upon marrying her mother, nor that her grandfather was secretly in huge debt to many of his neighboring Kings. She was selling herself, that's what her mother always said, and the best price would come from the man who believed her most valuable.  
They stopped twirling and the man took her chin between thumb and forefinger “How old are you, girl?”  
“Sixteen, my lord,” she replied, exerting every ounce of self-control she possessed not to tear away from his grip in disgust.  
“Not too old,” he nodded “and you truly are a beautiful creature. You'd bear me fine sons, I'm sure.”  
Regina resisted the urge to throw up.   
This was not how this evening was supposed to go. She was supposed to find Emma and dance with her in secret. To laugh and joke in the quiet of an ante room, and feel appreciated for once in her life. She was not supposed to be talking about bearing sons with a man over three times her age. Of course that's what it was about for most girls her age – but she'd been so distracted by the excitement of seeing Emma that the fear of this happening had for once seemed a little remote.  
“Where are your parents, girl? I believe I'd like to speak with them,” he asked.  
Regina stared at him for a moment before nodding numbly towards where her mother was watching, hawk-like, from across the room.  
“Very well,” he replied “if you'll excuse me – I'd very much like to speak with them.”  
Regina opened her mouth to say something – maybe to protest – but nothing came out, and she found herself watching in fearful trepidation as he crossed to her mother and launched straight into discussion with her. Her mother's face broke into a wide smile, and that was all Regina needed – she ran.  
  
*  
  
“I hoped I might find you here,”  
Regina's head snapped up, heart picking up speed.  
“Emma,” she breathed – half greeting, half question.  
“Regina,” she grinned in response, crossing the summerhouse to come and sit beside her “you made quite the stir back there you know,” the Princess added, elbowing her gently.  
The brunette flinched “I know, I'm sorry.”  
“Hey, you don't have to apologize to me – I get it. It's horrible having them pick over you like vultures. I’d run too if it weren’t for these damned heels,” she added, kicking her shoes across the room in a decidedly unladylike manner.  
Regina’s mouth pulled into a tiny smile at the action, but then sighed, turning to look up at her with worry in her dark gaze “He was talking about me bearing him children,” she shivered “like my body was already his right. I don't want this, Emma, I don't want to be given away like some prize at a village fair.”  
She felt an arm slip around her shoulders, the Princess' fingers stroking soothingly across the top of her arm.  
“Me either,” the blonde breathed, voice low and comforting “but we don't have a choice.”  
Regina groaned “I'm not ready for marriage. I'm still young – _we're_ still young – we should be out playing and _being_ young like the peasant children get to.”  
“You really wish you were a peasant?” Emma asked gently “Starving, worked too hard, and miserable?”  
“At least they're free,” Regina insisted “What's poverty when you get to be your own person? To marry for love, rather than being part of some political or financial deal?”  
The Princess' eyes dropped to her skirt, nodding “Well when you put it like that…” she agreed “But come on, even if they secure you an engagement your parents aren't going to make you marry yet.”  
“Of course they are – my mother wants me married off as soon as possible.”  
The blonde's head snapped up, eyes wide “What? But...I mean...my parents promised not to marry me until I'm at least eighteen, possibly twenty if I'm not ready.”  
“Well aren't you lucky,” she snapped back – immediately regretting it since Emma had sought her out simply to comfort her, and was clearly only trying to do so. It wasn’t like the Princess herself was exactly thrilled at the prospect of being married off either.   
“I'm sorry,” she added quickly “I just...my parents don't care about me like that. To them I'm simply an asset.”  
Emma's perfect forehead creased “But if you talked to them? I'm sure your parents love you, they wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable.”  
Regina scoffed “They don't love me...well maybe my father does, but he's too afraid of my mother to stand up to her.”  
“Regina I really can't believe that your own mother doesn't –”  
“She doesn't,” Regina said firmly “Some days I wonder if she's even capable of love – I've never seen her show any to anything.”  
Emma stared at her, mouth hanging slightly open – and for a moment Regina saw just quite how different their worlds truly were. They were both victims to the same antiquated ideas of their society, true, but the Princess’ life – it was filled with such love and happiness that she couldn’t even comprehend one of the simplest truths of Regina’s. The confusion on her face was born of such a beautiful naivety that the brunette wondered what she’d do if she realized the true extent of Cora’s cruelty. If she’d even _believe_ it. For a girl who liked to play with swords it appeared that Emma actually knew very little of the possibilities for human pain.  
“But how...how can your mother never have shown you love?” the blonde asked, voice completely incredulous.  
The girl shrugged, smiling sadly at her “Because she doesn't love me.”  
Suddenly the Princess was on her feet, one hand wrapped firmly around Regina's wrist so as to pull her up too. She started off back towards the ballroom, dragging the brunette carefully behind her.  
“Where are we going?” she asked warily – visions of Emma trying to confront Cora swimming in her mind.  
“You'll see,” she replied unhelpfully.  
Regina grumbled slightly but straightened up as they reentered the room.  
People were looking at her with judgment in their eyes – quickly replaced by confusion at the sight of her being dragged along by Princess Emma. Maybe they thought she was being taken for punishment for being a less than exemplary piece of meat.  
Emma didn't pay them any mind though – instead walking with distinct purpose until stopping abruptly, and Regina looked up in shock to see the rulers of the White Kingdom before her. Emma's parents.  
“Emma, darling, there you are,” Queen Snow trilled in a singsong voice filled with the kind of love Regina had never heard a mother speak with before – it made it a little easier to understand why Emma found it so difficult to believe in Cora’s distain towards her “Where have you been?” it was asked with concern, but not the kind of accusation that her mother would have put in the words.  
“Mother,” Emma started “remember the girl I told you about?”  
“The friend you made at the Coming Out ball?” she asked gently and Regina startled. Emma had talked about her?  
“Yes, well, I wanted to introduce you,” she replied, pulling Regina gently out from behind her.  
“Oh,” Snow let out a pleasant noise of surprise “Well – what a pleasure to meet you…” she trailed off meaningfully and the girl tried to find her voice  
“Regina, your majesty. My name's Regina.”  
“Queenly name,” Prince James smirked “to match with queenly beauty,” he added, bowing low “It's our pleasure, Regina.”  
The brunette felt herself blushing, unsure quite how to react.  
“Indeed,” Snow added with a smile “any friend of Emma's is a friend of ours. She certainly doesn't have too many.”  
Emma's mouth fell open in shock, staring up at her mother – who was smiling gently “It's just the truth, my darling.”  
The blonde started to grumble but then shook herself, a sense of purpose coming back to her features.  
“Your majesty,” Emma addressed her mother and Snow immediately frowned  
“What have you done?”  
“I haven't done anything!” she protested, face full of innocence.  
“Then what do you want?” she replied knowingly.  
Emma bit down on her lip, eyes widening into a puppy dog expression “I want Regina to come and stay with us.”  
Three mouths fell open in shock.  
“Emma I'm not sure her parents –”  
“She said they don't care about her! They just want to marry her off as soon as possible.”  
A tiny crease appeared between the Queen's eyebrows “Well that's unfortunate, Emma, but we still can't meddle – they're her parents after all.”  
“But they sound like horrible parents!” she protested, and Regina found herself staring, slack-jawed at the girl. No one had ever stood up for her like this before – and she hadn’t even asked for it “Isn't our whole thing as a royal family to try and free people from oppression?” she insisted  
“Well, yes, I suppose that is something we strive for,” Snow admitted  
“Well Regina's being oppressed at home, by her own _parents._ Please, mother, please. If she can stay I'll finish my lessons.”  
Snow looked a little startled at that “You would?”  
Emma nodded furiously, hand tightening around Regina's wrist.  
“Even your lessons in etiquette?”  
The blonde's nose screwed up slightly, but she nodded “Please it could be like having a sister – I've never had a sister!”  
The brunette startled slightly at the phrase. What she felt for Emma was certainly a kind of friendship, but it didn't really feel all that sisterly to her. Not least because she couldn't stop being bowled over by the blonde's radiant beauty. Still, it seemed that Emma was just trying to get her away from home – and if she could escape from her mother even for a little while she wasn't going to turn it down.  
“I've never had a sister either,” she added quickly, flicking her gaze to Emma, who gave her an encouraging look, and then back to Snow and James “My mother tends to try and keep me away from other people my age.”  
The Queen's eyes softened in sympathy “I can't deny it would be nice for Emma to have a companion – perhaps you could even join her in her lessons.”  
Both girls brightened considerably.  
“You mean – she can stay?” Emma asked eagerly.  
Snow's expression turned a little more serious “We can ask. But Emma if her parents say no there's nothing we can do.”  
Emma nodded “I know I know,” she brushed them off “but thank you thank you you're the best parents in the world!” she rose to her tip toes and kissed them each on the nose in turn – Regina watching on in amazement at this show of affection.  
Then Emma turned to her, eyes bright in excitement “They'll say yes, won't they?” she asked, and Regina shrugged.  
Honestly, she didn't know.  
  
*  
  
They didn't say yes.  
Cora had barely managed to contain her contempt at the sight of Snow and James – curtsying with just a few icily polite words of greeting.  
She'd at least acted somewhat grateful for the offer of schooling for Regina, but then had promptly refused – claiming that it would be disruptive to the girl’s studies, that the methods she used were tried and tested and she didn't wish to change now.  
Regina had tried not to react outwardly to that – to scream that Cora's tried and tested methods involved beatings when she got things wrong – but it would only have meant more trouble for her later so she bit her tongue near bleeding and didn’t say a word.  
She didn't miss Emma narrowing her eyes at her though.  
The Queen and the Prince had given their apologies and taken their leave, and Emma had stolen Regina promptly away again before her mother could refuse, pulling her through an ante room and off into what looked a little like her father's study.  
“I'm sorry,” the blonde said once she'd shut the door behind them “I thought this might help, but it's probably only got you in trouble hasn't it?”  
Regina shook her head quickly “No, no, they won't mind,” she lied “My mother doesn't like your parents so I expect her anger will be more focused on them.”  
Emma bowed her head, eyes fixing on the expensive looming tug beneath her feet “Regina, can I ask you a question?”  
The brunette nodded “Of course, anything.”  
“What was that look all about?” she asked quietly, and Regina felt her heart leap to her throat. She was all too aware that she stared at Emma a lot – it was difficult not to – but she'd never thought the girl noticed.  
“What look?” she asked carefully, keeping her own gaze averted as well.  
“The look you had when your mother was talking about her ‘methods’”  
Regina sighed in relief – this was an awkward topic – but much less so than her fascination with the workings of the Princess' face.  
“Oh nothing,” she lied more smoothly – she was practiced in lying about this “my mother's methods are just unconventional. Effective though,” she added with as genuine a smile as she could muster “I'm better educated than a lot of Princesses are thanks to it.”  
Emma cocked her head to the side with a soft sigh, mouth pulling into a gentle smile “You _are_ a Princess, silly.”  
The brunette gave a sad smile in response “Honestly, I'm not. My father's barely a Prince...though I really shouldn't speak of that.”  
The Princess' brow creased slightly and she took a few steps forward, reaching down and pulling Regina's hands into her own “Regina I don't know what's going on, what it is you're not telling me – and I realize we hardly know each other so I've really no right to ask – but whatever it is...” she bit down on her lip shyly, gaze flickering up to lock onto the other girl's “I'm here. If you need something if you...if you need help. I know your parents won't let you stay with us but there might be something else...there's always something else.”  
Regina's smile widened slightly, though she didn't feel it was an offer she could take her up on. Her mother's hold on her was too strong, and any pleas for help from any corner would just result in that corner getting hurt – and she wasn’t sure she could put Emma at risk like that. Certainly, not for her own sake.  
“Thank you, Princess. That's very kind – but I assure everything’s fine. Except for the marriage issue,” she replied with as much of a smirk as she could manage, giving her a tiny curtsy – small enough that she didn't have to remove her hands from the blonde's.  
The Princess rolled her eyes “ _Emma_ , honestly – and I do mean it. I don't know when we'll next see each other so I just need to make sure you know. My mother wasn't lying when she said I didn't have many friends but you...” the blonde's eyes sparkled and Regina felt her heart quicken “you're like a kindred spirit. I feel we were almost meant to be friends – silly as that might sound.”  
“It’s not silly,” Regina reassured her quickly and Emma squeezed her hands gently in response.  
“Look, what I'm trying to say is that I know I have little power to stop your parents but...if there is ever anything that I can do to help you – you need only ask.”  
Emma had drifted closer as she spoke, and Regina found herself staring just slightly upwards into the girl's bright green eyes. She wasn't sure what the Princess' game was – if she was as enchanted with Regina as the brunette was with her, if in her kingdom friends just acted this intimately towards each other, or if maybe the girl was just oblivious to the way her proximity made it difficult for Regina to breathe.  
“Will you promise me?” Emma whispered “Will you promise that the next time...the next ball – if you're in need – you'll ask?  
Regina nodded mutely, eyes fixed on the other girl as her face broke out into a smile.  
“Good,” she grinned, eyelashes fluttering, before leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss to Regina's cheek. She'd done it the last time too, but this time it left the brunette even more breathless than the first “then I suppose we should return – but, before we do – there's one more thing.”  
“Oh?” Regina raised an eyebrow, trying to regain some control over her emotions.  
Emma smirked, lacing her fingers firmly through Regina's and pulling her back into the ante room they'd come through, where the sound of music and laughter was bouncing off the dark paneled walls.  
“Dance with me?”  
  
  



End file.
